Some of the Basics to Muay Thai Kickboxing

Muay Thai is a brutal martial art turned national sport stemming from Thailand. It has a very rich history and honor to it that’s been captured in films for a bit of time. Muay Thai is one of the rawest and most unapologetic martial arts that really believes in a simple yet effective kind of fighting system. There’s basically no grappling (which other martial arts have), but the striking and blows are effective from the feet, the knees, elbows, and fists. There’s a significant difference from American, Korean, and Thai boxing. Here are some of the basics of Muay Thai Kickboxing.

Having the Right Equipment to Use

Safety is the absolute key when it comes to preventing injuries in Muay Thai Kickboxing. We’ll go over some safety measures to help you learn the martial art without causing danger to yourself or any of your spar partners. First, you need the proper headgear especially when you are doing any spinning techniques. The mouth piece is important to wear with the head gear as well. The next thing you want to have is a proper chin guard to help sustain blows from kicks. The thigh pads help to protect you from impact due to a kick to the side. Make sure you also have the right hand wraps to put on your hands before you get your gloves. This will help you develop the strength and also the right wrist action to keep your hand movement clean.

Getting in the Right Fighting Stance

A good stance is very important for both your defensive and offensive side. Feet placement is one of the focal points of Muay Thai. With your feet, you want to make sure that your lead foot is facing the opponent and the back foot is at a 45 degree angle to the front foot. This is the foundation and helps you strike with more power while giving you good balance. The elbows should be straight and pointed down. This way you don’t expose any openings like a rib-cage or stomach. It’s important because body blows are extremely dangerous and quite effective even with just a simple sparring session. Make sure the hand placement is a bit below eye level so you can mount a proper face defense while also keeping a clear vision of your opponent. You don’t want anything obscuring your sight off the target.

Keeping Relaxed and Your Chin Down

This is another key factor because you want your shoulders to be very relaxed. You never want to tense up while fighting because that takes a lot more out of your body and actually impacts your striking power. You should tense up when you’re about to strike the intended target. If you have your chin up all the time, this makes you an easy target for a knockout. To help avoid this, keep your chin down so you can actually guard it with your hand placement. These are just some of the basics to remember before you begin learning how to strike with the main parts of your body.